Brand New Eyes
by anniesamuels5
Summary: Bella Swan is struggling with her life at the moment. She is alone in Seattle while attending college. She meets the Cullens after they move into town. All original matchings. All Human.
1. History Class

Damnit. I should've studied. And read my book. I can't believe I let myself fail the test…what is going on with me?...

"Miss Swan?"

I look up to see Professor Green looking straight at me.

Professor Green is probably in his sixties. He has a full head of hair, granted it's grey, with a grey mustache to match. He is quite tall. 6 foot maybe 6' 2".

"Sorry, sir. What was the question?" I asked.

"John Locke. Who was he, and what did he do for American Society?" he said, repeating the question.

"John Locke was a 17th century British philosopher, also an Oxford academic and medical researcher. He influenced the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He is most noted for his concept of separation of government. He was an important link in the development of the modern executive and legislative powers."

"No. That isn't right!" snapped Lauren. " James Madison came up with that."

"Actually Lauren, Miss Swan is correct. Although Madison presented it, it was originally Locke's idea." He said matter-of-factly. "Thank you, Miss Swan." Professor Green said with a grin.

I couldn't help but smile. He had my back.

Lauren caught my eye. Her face was in-between hatred and shock. My eyes instantly went back to staring at the cream colored desk. It wasn't until there was utter silence did I notice something was wrong. The door clicked back into place and my eyes peeked up to see who would dare interrupt Professor Green's lecture.

The most beautiful woman I had ever seen was standing in the doorway. She looked just like a model. She looked about 5' 9" (maybe taller in those heels of hers), ivory skin, long golden hair to the middle of her back, and legs a mile long. Every girl in the room was instantly envious, and not a single guy stood a chance against her. She scanned the room for an empty desk. Low and behold the only one left was right next to me. What crappy luck I had. The clicking of her heels echoing in the silence of the classroom dragged me out of my self-pity. I looked back to Professor Green. He looked confused on what he should do. He obviously decided against yelling at her and he went on with his lecture, picking up where he left off. My eyes went straight back to staring a hole in my desk.

The class finally came to an end. Every boy in the class had been trying to sneak a glance of this new girl next to me. It was seriously getting annoying. Could they be anymore obvious? I started packing up my stuff, trying to hurry as to not be stopped. I also wanted to get out of there so these boys and their male egos wouldn't stampede me. I was just zipping up my backpack when Professor Green told me to stay behind. I let out a small sigh as I sat back down.

I could feel eyes on me… I slowly looked over to see the girl staring at me. She was about to say something when a book fell down onto her desk. Both of our eyes snapped up to see Mike Newton smirking.

"Hey sweetheart, what's your name?" asked Mike.

My eyes jumped back to the girl. She looked thoroughly unimpressed. She looked back down to her bag and started putting her stuff away. Mike's face fell but was instantly replaced with smugness. He looked straight at me.

"Hey Bella…why don't you tell your friend here," he glanced over to her, "that I'll play her little game of hard to get, but I'll get what I want…eventually."

"Bella, is it?" asked the girl

I kind of stared at her for a second not sure if she was talking to me. Her voice matched her looks, beautiful. This girl is going to be easy to hate. I finally nodded my head in realization that I hadn't answered yet.

"Will you tell this bastard, in his dreams?"

My jaw dropped. You know that whole line of "don't judge a book by its cover?" Total truth. She is my new hero. I looked back up at Mike. First, he was in shock. I don't think anyone had ever turned him down before, and if so, not bluntly and as badass as this girl had just demonstrated. Then, shock switched to furious. He ripped his book off the table and walked out of the classroom.

"Miss Swan? You can come up here now." Professor Green stated from behind his desk.

I gave one last glance at the mystery girl and grabbed my backpack while walking up to his desk in the corner.

Just as I reached his desk, he looked up. His eyes didn't meet mine. He was looking to my left. I followed his eyes and there three feet behind me was the blonde girl.

"Can I help you Miss?" asked Professor Green

"Yes, I'm sorry I don't mean to interrupt but I emailed you earlier this week," she said as she took a couple steps forward.

Surprise showed on his face. "Ah, yes! Miss Hale!" He jumped up from his desk and nearly ran over to her to shake her hand.

I slowly took a couple steps back, trying not to bring any attention to myself. I have never seen him act like this toward anyone, let alone a student.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Hale," Professor Green sincerely said.

"You, too, sir. It's nice to finally be here." She sounded entirely genuine. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't mean to take up your time." She looked over to me with an "I'm sorry" smile. "I just wanted to introduce myself. Also, I was wondering if there were any papers I need or anything I need to know."

"Of course, of course! Here let me write down my website. The syllabus is on it. The book is _The American Journey _and it looks just like…Bella can I see your book for a second?"

I nodded my head and handed my textbook to him without saying a word. The girl (Miss Hale, I guess) looked and her gaze held for a second. She turned back to Professor Green when he read the authors names off and handed it to her to look at.

"Even though we're in a little over a month, I'm sure the bookstore will have a couple still on hand."

Then it hit me…she's in this class. She just barely registered? How is that possible? I thought there was no possible way to get registered after the second or third week. Who is this girl?

"Actually, sir, I checked and they ran out of this particular textbook. But I found it online and it's in the mail. Is that going to be a problem?" Miss Hale asked.

"When is it supposed to arrive?"

"I think in a week. Just in time for the next class."

"Hmm…that shouldn't be a problem. I didn't assign any homework this week. Just look over the syllabus and chapters 5 & 6 when you receive your book."

"Alright, sounds good. It was very nice to meet you, sir." She shook his hand again.

"Miss Hale, the pleasure is all mine. Please give my regards to Dr. Cullen and his wife. We are all so excited to have all of you here." He smiled.

All? How many?

"Of course, sir. I'll be sure to tell them." She returned his smile and turned back to me. She held out my book in front of me. I took it and put it back into my backpack. When I looked back up the door was slowly closing. Professor Green turned back to me.

"Alright, Bella."

I swallowed and met his eyes. "Yes, sir?"

He sat down on top of his desk and folded his arms.

"What is going on?" he asked.

I hesitated. "Sir?"

"Your test scores are down, you're showing up late for class, you aren't doing the reading…what is going on?" he asked again.

I opened my mouth a couple times to say something but nothing would come out. I felt like a fish.

"Come on, Bella…You're better than this! Your ACTs were relatively high. Your first year went great. I talked to your professors from last year and they couldn't say a single bad thing about you."

I looked at him appallingly. "I'm sorry, sir, but why is any of this your business?"

"Why is it my business?" he repeated. "Well…because contrary to belief I actually care about my students. I don't teach for the glorious lifestyle," he said sarcastically. "Bella, do you know why I call you 'Miss Swan' in class and in front of other teachers and students?"

I shook my head

"Because I respect you."

My head dropped.

"I'm not just saying it, I really do. As do many professors here. Do you know why? Because you are the ideal student. You are the reason we are here, the reason why we chose to be teachers…I know the potential you have. I see it! I see it in you in every class. You are very knowledgeable. And that is why I care, why we care."

"I'm very sorry, sir," I whispered.

"I don't want you to be sorry, Bella. I want you to at least try. Please, for the sanity of your teachers, try."

I peeked up and saw a slight smile playing on his lips.

I breathed out a laugh. "Alright. I'll try, sir."

"Thank you. My door is always open, Bella."

I nodded a thank you.

"I'll see you next week in class," he said, dismissing me.

"Goodnight, Professor."

I turned and walked out of the classroom. The hallway was completely empty. I walked outside and I barely felt the rain as I made my way towards the parking lot.

What a weird couple of hours.

The talk with Professor Green was a total surprise. I did not see that coming. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad and touched but I just didn't think he (or any other teacher for that matter) even cared about students. He really is a good guy.

This mystery girl comes in, puts Mike in his place (which I totally give her mad props for), and then Professor Green is in awe of her family and her. Who is she? Or I guess more importantly, who are they?

I pulled my keys out of my backpack and unlocked my car, a white 2001 Honda Civic. I threw my backpack into the front passenger's seat and slid into the driver's seat in the same movement. I locked the doors, started the car, and put on my seat belt. I sighed as I put the car into reverse and made my way home.

I guess we'll find out next week.


	2. Meetings

Beep, beep, beep!

My eyes shoot open and my hand slams down onto the alarm clock to make the annoying "beeps" stop. I roll out of bed and walk into my bathroom. The mornings consist of the same routine everyday. Shower and get ready. I go through the motions just as numb as the day before and the day before that. Every morning is the same.

As I'm drying my hair, I look out the window. The clouds are overtaking the horizon, and the waves are crashing on top of each other. Another day. Another cloudy, rainy day. Just as predictable as the next.

I turn the blow drier off and walk into my closet. I pull a maroon button up shirt off the hanger and grab a skirt, slip, and nylons out of the drawers. I hurry and assemble the ensemble and grab the silver high heels on my way out of the closet. I finish up my hair, little make up, and brush my teeth. I run down the stairs, grab my keys, and run out the door.

-Fifteen minutes later-

"Miss Swan, can I get you anything while you wait?" the secretary asked. She was probably in her late sixties early seventies. She had this very friendly feel about her, very motherly.

"No, thank you."

"Alright, dear." She said with a smile.

The waiting room was very luxurious. It had a dozen leather armchairs lining the wall. Great portraits of the ocean behind the secretary's desk. On the opposite side of the secretary there were great windows, showing the marvelous view of Seattle and the water.

"Good morning, Mr. Swan," the secretary greeted.

"Good morning, Ellen."

"Miss Swan, your brother has arrived. Will you please follow me back to Mr. Jenkins' office?" Ellen, the secretary, said as she came around the desk and gestured towards the hall.

We followed her in silence as we passed door after door. Finally, at the end of the hall, Ellen knocked on Mr. Jenkins' door and let us in.

"Ah, good morning, good morning!" Mr. Jenkins stood with his arms outstretched. "It's so good to see you two. Please, please sit!" Mr. Jenkins is a tall man. About 6'2". He's about sixty. His hair is black but peppered with silver. He has a very friendly, loyal feel about him, and always happy to see you.

We followed his instructions and sat in the two leather armchairs facing him.

"Kale, how are the kids?" Mr. Jenkins' asked my brother.

"They are good. Lucy is going to be starting kindergarten this coming fall. Taylor is going to be in pre-school. And Thatcher is going to be one in July. They are growing up so fast." Kale responded with a smile. He truly is proud father.

"And Kelly?" Mr. Jenkins' asked.

"Has her hands full, but she's great." You could see the love in his eyes when he spoke of his family.

"Good, good. And Bella! Look at you! You're all grown up! How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you Mr. Jenkins." I responded.

My short, emotionless response was not the response he was expecting. It threw him off guard and he didn't know where to head from there.

"So, Mr. Jenkins, you needed us here for...?" Kale asked, saving the conversation.

"Yes, yes back to business." Mr. Jenkins recovered. "I asked you here to go over some of the legal documents pertaining to the family trust. Bella, almost being 21, is almost of the age your father set. You two are both aware that once Bella turns 21, you will have full access to your inheritance and the land your father has left for you. Although," Mr. Jenkins paused, "you two are also aware that your father left this trust for the both of you. It is stated in the contract that if you cannot BOTH agree on a decision, it will not be final. I am the overseer of this trust and I promised your father that everything will be fair and just. Now, I have copied the documents for the both of you. You both will have a copy. Your father set this up so that the two of you can have a future, along with your families and future families. I will contact you if anyone is interested in any of your land or if any land you'd be interested in comes across my desk. I promised your father I would take care of you, and that is my plan to do so."

"Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. We really appreciate all that you do." Kale said.

"My pleasure, son. I did a lot of business with your father, and I'm more than happy to keep it in the family." Mr. Jenkins said sincerely. "Thank you so much for coming in. We will continue to have these meetings every three months except the next time we meet will be after Bella turns 21, unless something comes up with the trust of course. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

Kale and I both stood and shook Mr. Jenkins' hand. We said thank you as he showed us to the door, and then the meeting had commenced.

I had started walking down the hall when I heard Kale speak.

"Bella, wait up."

I paused, contemplated on continuing on my way, but I stopped.

"You haven't been taking my calls. How is everything?" Kale asked.

"It's fine." I answered back.

"The kids miss you. We'd love to have you come stay for the weekend."

"Yeah…I miss them too…maybe. I'll get back to ya, Kale."

"Okay…really though, Bella. Please consider it." Kale said as he put his arms around me. I didn't notice until he had let go and was walking away that I hadn't even hugged him back.

After coming to, I walked out into the hall and into the elevator. Pressed the lobby button and waited for the doors to close. Just as they were closing, an arm shot through the gap to stop them from closing. As the doors opened, I saw the blonde from class last night. My eyes shot to the floor. I heard the heels of her shoes click as she walked into the elevator. The doors closed and we started moving downward. I could feel eyes on me. But I couldn't dare look up.

"Your name's Bella, right?" she asked.

My eyes shot up and met hers. Why does she remember me?

"I'm sorry, that's very rude. You don't even know who I am. My name is Rosalie, Rosalie Hale. I have history with you."

I couldn't find my voice. So all I could do was try to smile. This is so awkward.

"Sorry about last night. If that guy was your friend, or anything…"

"Mike? No, no." I finally responded.

The elevator reached the lobby floor with a ding and the doors opened. Rosalie took a step towards the door and said with a smile, "well Bella, I'll see ya in class."

I nodded my head and smiled. I called out to her, "Hey…" she looked back, "thanks…for what you said to Mike last night. No one ever talks to him like that…thanks."

"Anytime, Bella." She said with a smile and walked away.


	3. Psychology

I turn the handle and walk through the doorway. Staring at the floor while I make it to my desk. Thursday night = Psychology. I sit down and take out my book and notebook. I notice I still have about 5 minutes till class starts. No wonder only half of the class is full. Dangit. Why did I have to be early? Cause I hit every green light, that's why.

Sit. Quietly. Maybe no one will notice you're there.

4 more minutes.

A couple more people file through.

3 more minutes.

A few more people.

2 minutes.

It seems about everyone is here. The classroom is loud and the noise is bouncing off the walls. And yet, not one person has talked to me. I think it's working. Or maybe they just realized a month in that I'm the crazy girl that never talks.

1 minute.

Usually Mrs. Johnson is here by now. She usually is sitting at her desk looking through her book or working on her computer. Hmm…that's weird. You can usually bet on her being here 15 minutes early.

It's 5:15. No teacher. Everyone else kinda starts to notice. But before anyone can say anything about it, Mrs. Johnson walks through the door talking to a man. He's over 6 foot. He has honey gold shaggy hair. He looks like he came straight out of Hollywood. Other than the pale skin. Twenties at least.

The whole class went silent. Half because the girls were gawking at this man and the other half (boys) confused why the girls stopped paying attention to them.

Mrs. Johnson continued to talk to him. The only problem was we couldn't hear any of it. We all seemed to be leaning forward in our seats. Mrs. Johnson turned and pointed to a couple of chairs and then turned back to the mystery man. He smiled and shook her hand. Then he turned and walked down an aisle of chairs. He sits down in a desk diagonal from me and pulls out a notebook and pen. He either doesn't seem to notice everyone staring at him or he just doesn't care.

Finally, Mrs. Johnson smiled and turned towards the class. She tells us to turn to chapter 3 and goes on to lecture for an hour and a half.

As class is wrapping up, Mrs. Johnson tells us that next week we will be taking a test on chapters 1, 2, & 3. She dismissed the class and within the first 10 seconds 75% of the class was out the door. As the rest of the students were walking out the door, I continued to put my book and notebook in my backpack.

"Bella?"

I recognize Mrs. Johnson's voice and look up to see her maybe five feet from me.

"Could you let Jasper copy your notes?" Mrs. Johnson said as she indicated to the mystery man.

My eyes look to him and back to her and my involuntarily nods.

"Great! Thank you Bella." Mrs. Johnson states as she walks back to her desk and sits in the chair.

Jasper grabs his stuff and moves to the desk directly next to me.

"Hi, I'm Jasper." He extends his hand.

"Bella." I extend mine and we share a brief handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Bella. Thank you for your help." He states with a sincere smile.

I reciprocate with a smile while I hand him my notes.

"This should only take a minute. You're not in a hurry are you?"

I shake my head.

"Oh okay. Sorry anyway."

He takes his pen and copies down my notes at lightening speed. Okay, not really lightening speed. But I doubt I could write that fast and still be able to read my handwriting.

He hands me back my notes in record time.

"Thank you Bella."

I nodded my head, "you're welcome."

"It was nice to meet you. I'll cya next week."

"You too."

He got up and waved to Mrs. Johnson as he walked out the door.

"Thank you for doing that Bella."

"No problem, Mrs. Johnson." I responded.

"Goodnight, Bella."

"Night."

As I walked out into the misty air, I noticed two tall and a short little figure. As they walked towards the cars, they walked under a light and I noticed one of them as Jasper. The other tall figure was a huge man. He had to be 6'5" at least. And the other figure maybe 5 foot. A thin girl. She walked like she was walking on air. As they reached their car (of course right next to mine), I noticed it was an Audi A8. Had to be the 2010 model (yeah…I like cars).

Jasper and the two figures were all walking to the passenger side. Who's driving? But then Jasper opened the door for the pixie girl and she slide right in. He opened the door for her? Wow…chivalry isn't dead. Then I noticed she was looking at me. Crap Bella! Before my eyes shot to the ground I caught her eyes sparkle. When I finally looked up to see how far away my car was, Jasper was waiting for me. As I closed the distance to my door and shoved the key in to unlock it, I heard my name.

"Bella, we were wondering"…as he pointed to the pixie-like girl, "if you had any plans for tonight? We're going to go get some coffee and hang out. We'd like you to come."

…They want me to come. What do I say?

"Um…"

He leaned forward, whispering, "Bella…it's okay. Don't feel like you have to. You did just meet me after all. I'll make something up…Just nod your head…now."

I nodded my head on cue, confused as to why and how he knew I couldn't go.

He leaned back and said, "I'll cya next week Bella."

"Cya, Jasper."

He smiled and turned around. He opened his car door and drove away. But while they pulled out I couldn't help but look up and see the pixie like girl. She looked so disappointed. Why would she be disappointed?

I opened my door and slide into the seat. As I was driving away, I couldn't help but think, this semester is going to be different.


	4. Sunset

Why did I decide to do school in the summer? Oh yeah, now I remember, because I don't have a life anyway. I don't have any friends or a boyfriend anymore. I don't have a job. Well unless you call being the co-chair of your parents multi-billion dollar trust a job, then I do. But that's what you get when your father was the Donald Trump of the west coast.

Key word: was.

My parents died at the first of the year. They were driving home from Forks, Washington, visiting my brother Kale and his family, when they had gotten into an accident. And truly it was an accident. The other driver hadn't been drinking, texting, or talking on the phone. No influence of drugs, just simply an accident. It had been raining and the roads had frozen over. The doctor said that they died instantly and had hardly felt anything.

The funeral followed a couple of days after. People came from all over to pay their respects. My parents were actually really well liked and respected considering how much they were worth. They weren't your average "rich snobs". They weren't snobs at all. Yes, as long as I can remember we've had nice things but my parents were different. They never boasted about what we had. They instilled in us that although money is a necessity in this world, it also doesn't mean a thing unless you have people to share it with.

Yes, I've grieved the loss of my parents. But I also have my bad days along with my good. Days where I'm angry, days where I'm sad. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss them. They meant a lot to me. No, our family wasn't perfect. We weren't relatively close, especially my brother and me. But they were my family. But I feel that I have dealt with it fairly well. A few emotional meltdowns, but that's to be expected right?

So then what's the deal with Kale and me? We've just never been super close. With him being ten years older than me, he was out of the house by the time I was nine years old. We love each other of course, but I've never felt like I could talk to him. That is one of my biggest regrets; that I never really got to know my parents. I'm at the age where I'm supposed to start to do that. Where I can actually know my parents for the people they were instead of these beings of perfection. But now it's too late. I won't get to hear that from them. I won't get to have them at my graduation. I won't get to have my daddy/daughter dance at my wedding.

Yes, I've dealt with their death but that doesn't mean that I'm not angry that I have to miss out on these things.

Ah, this year has been shitty. First, I lost all my friends and my boyfriend due to the same guy. Then, I lost both of my parents. I'm failing in school. And I'm pushing away the only family I have left. I don't know who I am. What is my problem? Why can't I just get over it? Oh, I know, because you're a freaking idiot that only keeps her mouth shut and lets everything boil up till you explode!

How is this year even going to get any better?

(Later)

My Thursday night classes are always pretty interesting. I've liked this class so far. It's Human Development Through Lifespan. My teacher, Mr. Richens, makes it really interesting.

With five minutes till class, I set my books down on the table and went to find a bathroom to waste time in so that I didn't have to make small talk with anyone.

As I was leaving the bathroom, I noticed the time on my watch. 5:13. I swiftly walked back to class, and as I was opening the door I looked up to see my table wasn't alone like it usually was. There were two more people sitting at it. They were the same people from last night, the ones with Jasper. The pixie girl was beaming when she saw me walk through the door. I gave a shy smile and quickly averted my eyes to the floor and found my way back to the seat. As I sat down, I felt her looking at me. Blush swept over my cheeks and I made a curtain between us from my hair.

"Welcome, everyone. How are you, tonight?" Mr. Richens asked.

Mumblings of "good" rang through the class.

"Good. Good. Well before we start class, I'd like to introduce all of you to two new students we are so proudly to have gained. This is Emmett and Alice Cullen. They have recently just moved to Seattle from San Francisco. We are very excited to have your family back with us."

And then I heard a voice I didn't know could exist it was so beautiful and melodic.

"We are so happy to be here, too." Alice gladly reciprocated.

Cullen…Cullen…where have I heard that name before? Oh! Tuesday, Mr. Green had said to Rosalie something about a "Dr. Cullen and family". Is this part of the family? How many are there?

"Alright, well let's just get started then!" Mr. Richens stated as he jumped into his lecture. Meanwhile, I was trying to bury myself in a hole. I couldn't even look up from my paper! After this went on for an hour and a half, Mr. Richens finished his lecture 5 minutes early. "So I've been thinking. Instead of each of you writing an individual research paper, I'm going to have you do presentations. But not individual presentations, group presentations! Each table will be a group and you can decide for yourself what your topic will be. These presentations will be due at the end of the semester. So the last class we have, before the final of course, will be when you will present. Understand?"

Another mumbling of something that related to a yes.

"Great! Then I'll see you next week. Have a great weekend!" Mr. Richens dismissed us.

Trying to pack up my bag as fast as I could, I dropped my pen.

"Here ya go. My name's Alice."

"…thanks. Bella."

"Nice to meet you, Bella. This is my brother Emmett."

"Hey." Emmett waved.

"..hi."

"You probably didn't see us yesterday but.." Alice trailed.

"Yeah, you're Jasper's… friends right." I said cutting her off.

"Right! That's too bad that you couldn't come last night, but that's okay! You can come next time!"

"Alright," came out of my mouth before I could stop the words. She had this weird excitement about her that I just couldn't stand to tell her no.

"Perfect!" she trilled.

"..yeah…I actually gotta get going tho..I'll cya next week." I said, standing up.

"Bye!" she waved enthusiastically and Emmett nodded.

As I reached the door I looked back and they seemed deep in discussion; Emmett's face full of excitement and Alice talking faster than the speed of light.

As I reached the parking lot, the sun was just setting. I stopped and enjoyed the view for a moment. It was moments like this that I knew there was beauty in this world; that my parents were okay, and that I knew that I would eventually be too. The sunset shows the end of the day and I couldn't help but think that this moment meant a lot more than I could have ever seen coming.


	5. House

This has turned out to be a fairly interesting morning. I received a phone call from Mr. Jenkins, the family attorney. He called and informed me of an important meeting this afternoon pertaining my parent's home.

My parent's house is fairly…big. They built it in 2002. The lot size is 52,272 sq ft., the house being 8,300 sq ft. It is on Hunts Point road in Hunts Point, WA. It's just about 15 minutes away from downtown Seattle, and only 13 minutes from the University. It's waterfront property with views of the bay and city. It also has it's own dock, which my dad took advantage of with his boat. A beautiful two story home with an amazing view, an in-ground pool, a gated entry, four bedrooms (master bedroom on main level and three upstairs), four full and one half bathrooms, and two garages (each garage holds two cars).

The weeks following my parent's death, Kale, Kelly, and I went through the house. We donated their clothes and other things we didn't want or could part with. But for the most part, the house looks exactly the same. The only rooms that looked different were the master bedroom, master bathroom, and their closet. Those three rooms were entirely bare. We donated all the clothes. Kale and Kelly took my parents bedroom furniture set, which I don't blame them; it's a king after all. We boxed up anything that we didn't want and gave it away. We also cleared out any and all paperwork with their stuff and gave it to Mr. Jenkins. So really, the house did and didn't look the same at the same time. All the furniture, other than the master bedroom set, is still there.

For the past five months, Kale and I haven't done much with the house, other than cleaned out their room and belongings. Kale and I haven't decided what to do with my parent's house, so we decided that until we decide what to do with it, we would keep the cleaning ladies and gardener for the time being. We couldn't let the house go to disarray. It was after all our parent's home. It meant a lot to us too. Granted Kale didn't live in it for very long, so his attachment wasn't as strong as mine but it was still our house. We didn't know what to do with it. We didn't even know what our parents wanted us to do with it. Which gave me a feeling that is what the meeting was about today.

As I walked into Mr. Jenkins's office, I noticed another person there. But that person wasn't Kale like I expected it to be. It was Trey Bryner, my father's friend. Trey also happens to be one of the top dogs in real estate for the past 25 years. Trey had to be in his 60s by now. He was a very plump man, although he had to be about 6 foot. Looking at him you wouldn't think he was worth the millions he is. He has subdivided and built half of the surrounding areas of Seattle. Although his specialty is in more luxurious homes, he has worked all over this part of Washington. There wasn't another man this side of Washington that knew housing like he did. And when you teamed up him and my dad, it was money, every time. My dad trusted him and his opinions. My dad wouldn't have trusted anyone else to build my mother's dream home.

Mr. Jenkins's jumped up and bound over to shake my hand.

"So good to see again, Bella." He said as he showed me to my chair and then took a seat across from the Trey and me. "You remember Mr. Trey Bryner, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do." I said with a smile as I shook Trey's hand. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise, Bella." Trey replied back with a smile.

"So Bella, the reason we are meeting today is because of your parent's home. If I had known that neither you or Kale were living in your parent's house then we could've discussed this a few days ago, but it has been brought to my attention that no one is living in the house," said Mr. Jenkins. "But the gardener and cleaning ladies have been kept on, is this correct?"

"Yes, it is…" I quietly said.

"Why?" asked Mr. Jenkins.

"Kale and I didn't know what was supposed to be done with the house so we thought while it gets figured out we would keep it up…it is our parent's house. We didn't want it to be let go." I answered.

Mr. Jenkins and Trey looked at each other, and then Trey looked at me and said: "do you not know?"

"Know what?"

Mr. Jenkins stood up and walked over to the closet to the right of his desk. He stopped, turned and said, "now Bella, for the sake of time and importance of this matter, I'm going to show you my safe...but I ask that you don't repeat what you saw in the next minute to anyone."

Unsure, I nodded.

"Alright, thank you Bella. Also, don't worry about Trey here, he is the one that built it for me," Mr. Jenkins said with a smile.

He turned back around and my eyes locked on this door. What was so special about this door? Yeah it looked like really expensive wood, but why would that matter to a safe?

Mr. Jenkins surprised me, though. Instead of reaching for the handle, he put his finger to a knot in the wood.

Trey leaned over and said with pride, "fingerprint scanner. This safe has got to be one of my better designs."

The door popped and Mr. Jenkins pulled it the rest of the way open. The door was at least 5 inches thick; it wasn't wood. Steel. Very cool.

Mr. Jenkins walked into the closet/safe and we heard him rustling around opening up cabinets and whatnot. He emerged holding a folder. He sat down at his desk and opened the folder and looked up at me.

"Bella, you are well aware your parents had constructed a will. But we are not going to discuss the entirety of the will yet until you turn 21 as your father had instructed. But we are going to discuss one very important aspect of the will: The house." Mr. Jenkins paused. "Your parents have left you their house."

I sat there stunned. I couldn't have heard him right. "I'm sorry? …How is that…what about Kale?"

"Kale knows. He signed off on it." Mr. Jenkins explained.

"What?" I asked.

"When Kale came of age and started working for your father, they sat down together and decided that you would get the house if anything were to ever happen to your parents. I'm surprised that none of them ever told you. But I'm sure they had their reasons for not doing so, and you will have to talk to Kale to find out why. I was never told that you did not know." He explained. He turned and pushed the folder towards me. I skimmed the page and saw my parents and Kale's signature. Even staring at it didn't make it anymore real. "So this brings us back to the problem at hand, Bella, what do you want to do with the house?"

When I didn't answer he continued, "Do you want to sell it, live in it, what?"

I looked up and said, "No, I don't want to sell it. I want to keep it."

"Wonderful," Mr. Jenkins stated with a smile. "Your parents would be so happy. All right so back to business! You are probably wondering why Trey is here. Well it's because he's going to oversee the transitioning of ownership and title. Your father had already drew up the papers himself and all that is needed is your signature!" Trey then handed me a pen and placed the papers in front of me. "If you could initial here, here, and here. Then sign here."

I did as Trey asked and when I was done signing he put out his hand and said, "congratulations, Bella."

"Thank you, Trey. Mr. Jenkins. I don't know what to say." I replied.

Trey put his hand on my shoulder and I turned to look at him.

"Bella, we are so happy to help. You know how much your parents meant to me. Your dad was my best friend! We aren't going to let anything happen to you, Kale, or the estate. I can promise you that." Trey meaningful said.

I gave him a teary eyed smile with thankful eyes, and he returned it.

Mr. Jenkins then paged in his secretary, Ellen. After a second, she knocked on the door and greeted me with a smile. Mr. Jenkins stood up and handed her the papers asking her if she could copy them. She turned on her heel and left the room.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Well, after Ellen gets back with the copies, Trey is going to go to his office where he has to file away the part of his paperwork and yours will stay here with me in the safe." Mr. Jenkins answered. "We will finish the rest of the will, estate, and business after you have reached the age of 21, as your father had instructed."

I stood up. "Thank you, again, both of you."

Ellen walked in handing them the papers and left as soon as she had arrived.

"I'll walk out with you, Bella." Trey stated.

"Alright, goodbye Mr. Jenkins."

"Goodbye, Bella. We'll be in touch."

Trey opened the door for me and I shuffled through the doorway. We made our way up to the reception area and both said goodbye to Ellen, who said goodbye in return. As we made our way out to the elevators Trey turned to me and said, "Bella, don't be too hard on Kale."

I looked at him in surprise.

He smiled and pressed both buttons for the elevators; one going up and one going down. Both opened. He handed me a business card, turned on and walked into one and said, as the doors were closing, "bye Bella."

I looked down at the business card and read Trey's name and number.

I walked into the other elevator and pressed the lobby button. I walked on autopilot all the way to my car in the covered garage. When I reached my car, I sat in the driver's seat thinking. Finally, after who knows how long, I turned the ignition over and drove back to my apartment.

After arriving back at my apartment, I walked to the kitchen and braced myself on the counter. I pulled out my phone and found Kale's number.

He picked up on the 2nd ring.

"Hi Bella!" – Kale

I hesitated.

"Bella?..." - Kale

"Kale. Why didn't you tell me about the house?" – Me

It was quiet for a minute.

"Bella…you haven't talked to me in months. You wouldn't take my phone calls. You wouldn't see Kelly or me. How was I supposed to tell you? Before Wednesday, I hadn't seen or talked to you since we cleaned out the house. And even then you weren't really there. I don't understand what is going on Bella. Is it about Mom and Dad? Is it school? Jacob?" – Kale

"Nothing…" – Me. The tears started to form and I was losing the fight against them.

"Nothing?...It's obviously not nothing. Will you jus…" – Kale

"Never mind." I said as I cut him off and hung up. I threw my phone across the room where it hit the wall and broke into pieces. I slid to the floor and stayed their long after my tears subsided.


	6. Introductions

After finally pulling myself up off the floor, I cleaned up my face and reapplied make up. I changed into dark skinny jeans and a grey t-shirt. Pulled on socks and vans. Grabbed my purse and walked out the door.

As I reached the lobby of my apartment building, I put on my sunglasses and made my way to the closest Verizon store. It was just around the block so I would just walk. Walking could probably do me some good. My head was spinning with the day's events.

I shouldn't have hung up on Kale, but I just can't talk about it. How was I supposed to anyone, let alone my brother, that I haven't talked to Jake for months and that Jake's best friend was obsessed with me? That he was making advances on me? And even though nothing really happened, he told everyone that we'd been together? How was I supposed to tell my brother that? When even my own friends didn't believe me.

Jake went off to Europe to work for his dad a year ago. His dad owns a big steel machinery business and they do a lot of work with Switzerland and Germany. Jake was in line to take over his dad's business. We had dated the last year and a half of high school and I thought we were on track for marriage. We talked about it. But Jake always put it off. And then this huge opportunity came to go over to Europe and he couldn't turn it down. We kept in touch the first 6 months with phone calls and skype. He never came home for Christmas though. Instead his family went there and spent the holidays. After the holidays though, the phone calls started to dwindle. And then one day, they just stopped. He never took any of mine and I never received any either. I haven't heard from him since. A month later, my parents died.

I guess I can't blame our relationship ending because of his best friend, but I have no idea what happened. I don't even know if he knows.

But what I do know is that in the past 5 months, I have remembered and heard so much about our relationship. How could I have been so blind? He treated me like a much attested object rather than someone he supposedly loved. His parents hated me, which he never stood up for me with them. He talked about me as a stupid, spoiled, rich girl that didn't matter. He acted as though he was single; treating every girl he came in contact with as special as I wish he had treated me. I was nothing more than a piece of ass and he made that perfectly clear on more than one occasion. And I was blind to it all. I was completely and utterly stupid. I fell in love with a man that couldn't care less about me. He deserted me. He deserted me when I needed him most. And I was stupid enough to think he cared.

As I reached the Verizon store, it had started to rain. I hurried in and the salesman pounced on me at once. I told him what I needed and he got me in and out in a matter of 30 minutes.

It was nearly 5:00, and I was starving. As I walked out into the rain, I turned right and walked straight into someone. My eyes darted to the ground, not wanting to make eye contact. I saw a box on the ground that the person must've dropped after I had smashed it…great.

"I am so sorry…" I started.

"Bella?" a voice sung.

I looked up and saw it was Rosalie Hale; wearing black pencil skirt, a cream lace top, heels, and had her hair flowing perfectly.

You have got to be kidding me. Of course I run into her and ruin her box and whatever is in it.

"Hi…" I bent down to pick up the box. It read "Sue's Bakery" on the top. I totally ruined whatever bake goods were in here.

"How are you, Bella?" she asked, not even worried about the mystery baked goods. "Here get under the umbrella! You are soaking wet!"

When I didn't move she moved forward and put it over the two of us.

I looked down at the box and said, "I'm so sorry…I totally ruined whatever was in here."

She smiled and lifted a hand stopping me, "Bella. It's fine. It's just a cake. I can go get another one. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I'm fine." I replied. "I can pay for it. Please, let me pay for it."

She smirked and thought for a second. "Okay, but…on one condition."

"Name it."

"What are your plans tonight?" she asked.

"Uh…I don't have any."

"Will you come with me then to this little get together?"

"…I don't want to impose…" I started.

She cut me off, "you wouldn't be!"

"I'm not really dressed for a nice occasion…" I said as I was again taking in her outfit.

She noticed what I was meaning, "No, Bella, I just got off work and was on my way there. I'll be the one over dressed. Please?"

"Uh…" I looked around and ran my hand through my hair. "K."

Rosalie smiled and we walked up the street to the bakery that she had just come from. We walked in the doors and out of the rain. It smelt heavenly! There were cakes and treats all on display and ready for the taking. A woman walked in from the back when she had heard the chime of the door. She was about 60 years old and she looked as nice as could be. She had flour in her hair and on her shirt. She was grinning from ear to ear. "Back already?" She asked excitedly.

"I am such a klutz and totally ruined the cake, ma'am. I was wondering if would be possible to get another cake?" Rosalie asked while holding up the box.

"Oh dear, yes of course you can Miss Hale. Not a worry, not a worry!" She replied and went into the back really quick. She emerged with a gorgeous German chocolate cake. "Now don't you worry, this one is on the house!"

"Are you sure?" asked Rosalie.

"Definitely! Accidents do happen!" She replied with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh, thank you so much."

After the cake was put in a box, we emerged back into the rain. Rosalie opened the umbrella and covered the both of us. We walked in silence for a few seconds until finally Rosalie broke it.

"So what were you doing before we ran into each other?" she asked.

"I...uh…my phone broke. So I had to go buy a new one." I replied.

"Oh I hate when that happens. How'd it break?"

"It…fell."

"Well at least it's fixed now." She paused. "I'm glad I ran into you though." She said with a smile.

I laughed, "really? Why?"

She smiled and laughed for a beat. "Never mind. I'm just glad you agreed to come." She looked at me and smiled. I knew she meant it. "The restaurant is just right there." She pointed to a building that I then recognized the sign as a well-known Italian place. We paused in front of it and I gave her a questioning glance.

"You never did tell me what we are doing…"

She looked as if I had caught her red handed. "Yeah…it's kind of a dinner party. A dinner…birthday party."

My eyes got big.

"No, it's okay Bella! It'll be fine that you are coming! More than fine! Please come. You can leave at any time, I promise." She said really fast.

Just as she finished, the door to the restaurant opened and out emerged Emmett Cullen from my Human Development class. He saw Rosalie and his lips formed an instantaneous smile. He was wearing dark jeans and a red polo shirt.

Rosalie turned as the door opened and saw it was Emmett. "Hi," she said with an excitement. She turned to me and said, "Bella, this is Emmett, my fiancé. Emmett this is Bella."

Emmett chuckled and put his arm around Rosalie, "we've already met Rose. Hi Bella, nice to see you again."

"Hi," I said quietly but with a smile. Emmett was…easy. He shined with happiness. I couldn't help but smile.

"How do you two know each other?" Rosalie asked.

We both answered "Human Development" at the same time, and that made Emmett chuckle and Rosalie smile.

"Well ladies, shall we go in?" Emmett asked as he opened the door for us. Yeah, a real class clown and I couldn't help but like him. Rosalie cupped my arm and we walked through together with Emmett tailing behind us. "Back left corner booth," he directed. Rose steered me the right way to the back of the room, and when we came into sight of the table I noticed three other people sitting there. As we neared closer I recognized two of them; Alice Cullen and Jasper from my Psychology class. The other person, a young man with perfectly untidy bronze hair, great bone structure, and green eyes, I had no clue to who he was. But whoever he was I couldn't take my eyes off of him. From what I could see he was wearing a forest green v-neck. I found myself holding my breath as we approached the table. The three of them looked up to see us standing there. Alice beamed with excitement and exclaimed, "Bella!" Jasper also smiled and waved as he greeted me with a hello. Rosalie looked from me to the both of them, back and forth, with clear confusion written all over her face. "…How do…" she stared to ask but Alice jumped in and answered before she could finish, "We have human development together with Emmett. And Jazz has Psychology with Bella."

Emmett chuckled from behind us, "what are the odds?"

Rosalie then said with a laugh, "well I guess I only need to introduce you to one person then. Bella, this is Edward. He's Alice and Emmett's brother."

He smiled a crooked smile and it made my stomach tighten. "Nice to meet you, Bella."

"You, too." I replied back with a smile that I couldn't help.

"Well now that all the pleasantries are out of the way, why don't we sit down." implied Emmett.

He ushered me into the booth, Rosalie followed me in, and then him. I sat directly across from Edward, then Alice was next to him, and then Jasper.

Edward slid me his menu and I smiled a thank you but my eyes went straight to the menu, staring a hole right through as the blush started creeping into my cheeks.

"Rose, how do you know Bella?" asked Jasper.

"We have history together. And we ran into each other on my way here," she smiled at this part and then continued, "and I invited her to come along. Practically had to beg her though."

"I am sorry I'm crashing your party."

Alice spoke up first, "crashing? Are you kidding me? This is a great surprise! I'm so glad you came!"

I couldn't help but smile at her pure excitement that I was there. It was very complimentary and welcoming.

"So it's your birthday?" I asked Alice.

"Yes. Well, tomorrow. This is an early birthday dinner for Edward and me." She nodded toward Edward. "Edward and I are twins."

"And Emmett…" I started to ask.

"Older brother," Emmett answered proudly.

"What's the age difference?"

"Two and a half years," answered Alice.

"I'm 23." Emmett clarified.

"So you're turning 21 tomorrow?" I asked Alice and Edward. They nodded. "Big birthday."

"Yup, they grow up so fast." Emmett joked.

We all chuckled and my eyes met Edward's. They held me for a beat, not letting me go. The waitress interrupted the moment and my eyes quickly shifted to the menu. But I could still feel his eyes on me.

"Good evening, my name is Jessica. I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks, or are you ready to order?"

We all mumbled we were ready, and then preceded in relaying what we wanted.

She flirted and lingered a little longer on Edward than necessary, which was annoying, but who wouldn't? He didn't seem to notice and just gave her his order.

I continued staring a hole in the table.

"So Bella, what are you majoring in?" asked Jasper.

I glanced up to answer Jasper, "I'm splitting my degree in psychology and business."

"How much longer do you have?" asked Edward. I didn't expect him to be talking, and when I looked at him he seemed to be concentrating solely on me.

It took me a second to regain consciousness and replied, "I should be finished this semester."

Edward's eyes held mine even when Alice exclaimed, "really? Us too! We'll have to have a party!"

Right then Jessica walked up, but still Edward and I were in a trance. "Alright, I've got a six waters." He smiled and then broke our eye contact, releasing me to go back staring at the table and to be able to breathe. He grabbed two of the waters and set one down in front of me. I glanced up and smiled quickly, then resumed staring at the table. Jessica left our table and went back to the kitchen.

I sat listening to their conversations, which consisted of weather, sports, fashion, movies, etc. I chuckled a couple of times. They were really easy to be around and never made me feel unwelcome. I kept my eyes away from Edward, but I could feel when he was looking at me.

Jessica returned back with our food and divvied out which dish belonged to who. Then she turned on her heel and walked back into the kitchen.

We all ate in silence for a minute, but then conversation picked up again and was as easy as before. I sat and listened. Laughed when things were funny. It was surprising but I wasn't trying…I was truly enjoying myself. Other than feeling totally self-conscious with Edward in front of me, I couldn't feel more at ease.

As we all finished with our dishes, Rosalie cleared room and put the glorious German chocolate cake on the table in front of Edward and Alice.

"I know your birthday isn't till tomorrow, but I wanted to get a cake for the two of you that will suffice until tomorrow." Rosalie explained.

"Aw…thank you Rose! That was so nice of you!" gushed Alice.

"Yes, thank you very much, Rose," agreed Edward.

"Well, you also have Bella to thank," Rosalie started with a smile. "She helped."

Blush started to form as Alice exclaimed a thank you and I stole a glance at Edward and he smiled. A grin broke out and I couldn't stop it. I hurried and looked at Rose. She gave me a reassuring smile.

Emmett started applying the candles. Jessica passed by then and noticed what was going on. She hurried and cleared away the dirty plates, then hurrying back with clean ones and a lighter. Emmett lit the candles and then handed it back to her. She stood there awkwardly for a moment and then disappeared again. Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie started singing happy birthday. It took me a second but I joined in. When the song finished, Edward and Alice blew out the candles together. The four of us clapped and Rosalie began cutting the cake.

After eating majority of the cake, Jessica came back to the table. "I hope everything was wonderful. Mario wanted me to let you know that he remembers your parents and wanted me to welcome you home. Dinner is on the house. Thank you for coming in tonight! Happy birthday! Have a wonderful night!" She said as she awkwardly handed a napkin to Edward, who was in the back of the booth. Then she hurried away.

Edward opened the napkin, glanced up, and then set the napkin on top of his plate.

Emmett started to laugh, "got a number, Eddie?"

Edward glanced at me and then back at Emmett, "let's just go."

"You got it, Romeo." Emmett winked.

We scooted out of the booths and worked our way out of the restaurant.

As we walked out into the drizzling rain, an umbrella opened up above my head. I looked behind me to see who it was, and it was Edward. He smiled, and I smiled back but hurriedly looked away, failing at not letting him see the blush creeping into my cheeks.

"Emmett, my car is just up the street by Sue's Bakery, do you want to walk with me and then we could give Bella a ride home?" Rosalie asked Emmett, looking at me for reassurance that that was okay.

"Oh no that's okay I just live a couple blocks away…" I started but Emmett cut me off.

"No, Bella, we'd be more than happy too!" Emmett said with a grin.

"Alright…" I could tell they wouldn't be taking no for an answer.

Alice flitted over to me and gave me a hug exclaiming, "thank you so much for coming Bella!" I didn't have time to hug her back before she quickly stepped back. "Bella! You have to come tomorrow night!"

My face must have been pure confusion for Rosalie stepped in, "tomorrow night, their parents are having a dinner for Edward and Alice's birthday. You should come! I can even come pick you up."

"No…I'd feel horrible…really…" I shook my head.

"Please, Bella! You wouldn't be imposing at all. Please?" Alice pleaded.

I hesitated but finally agreed, which Alice squealed in delight and hugged me again. "I'm going to hurry and go before you change your mind!" She stepped back with a huge grin, waved, and turned grabbing Jasper's hand. Jasper waved and turned with her, making there way towards the parking lot. Edward looked as though he was stuck between two decisions but then finally said, "It was nice meeting you, Bella. See you tomorrow," and ran after Alice and Jasper.

Emmett placed a hand on my shoulder and chuckled, "you'll get used to her."

We all laughed and turned to make our way back up the road. Emmett and Rosalie hand in hand, with Emmett's other hand carrying the umbrella. Rosalie handed me hers, seeing that it was really hard to fit three under one, especially one Emmett's size.

"So you guys just moved here, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, we moved from San Francisco. We used to live here about twelve years ago, but we don't really remember much." Emmett replied.

"Oh, nice…how come you moved back?"

"My dad got offered a job up here. My parents always regretted leaving Seattle. Don't get me wrong, we love San Francisco and great things happened there. But it was never really…home. Ya know?" Emmett explained.

We walked a couple more yards before I spoke again.

"What does your dad do?"

"He's a surgeon. He'll never admit it, but he's actually the best surgeon on the west coast. That's why we moved to San Francisco. They wanted him and they got him."

"Politics?"

Emmett smirked and asked, "How'd you know?"

My father's voice replayed in my head of a phrase he'd say: politics is in everything. I hesitated. "Lucky guess…"

I knew they didn't believe me, but they didn't question me.

We arrived at the parking lot behind Sue's Bakery in that moment and they started towards a red BMW M3 Convertible. The M3 is recognized as one of the best all-around sports cars in the world, and of course Rosalie Hale drove one. She handed the keys to Emmett, and he unlocked it. He came around to the passenger side and opened both doors for us at the same time, allowing us to scoot in and then closing them behind us. He walked around and got into the driver's seat.

"Nice car," I complimented.

Rosalie turned in her seat and smiled, "thanks."

Emmett started the car and I gave the directions back to my apartment building. It really wasn't that far so there wasn't much conversation time.

We arrived; I unbuckled my seat belt and I went to pull the door handle, "thank you for the ride, and for dinner."

"Thank you, Bella for coming! I'm glad we 'ran' into each other," Rosalie smiled. "You know we were serious about you coming tomorrow. Can I see your phone?" she asked.

I handed her my phone and she used it to call hers. "There! I'll talk to you tomorrow. But just be ready around 5."

"Okay. Thanks again. Goodnight." I said as I opened the door and exited the car.

"Goodnight," they called out in unison.

I shut the door to the car and walked up to the building doors. As I opened them, I heard the car drive off.

I made my way to the elevator and then eventually found myself at my door. I unlocked it and went inside.

What a day. But even though it was all over the place, I felt it ended on a good note. I had a lot of fun with the Cullens. They are extremely nice and welcoming. And every single one of them is good looking, even their significant others. Well I guess beauty attracts beauty. But what made them even more appealing was the fact that they didn't care. The waitress obviously gave Edward her number, but he was more embarrassed about it than anything.

As I changed into pajamas and washed my face, my mind kept returning back to Edward. He is definitely attractive. He seemed nice and respectful. I was more than aware of his gaze and how his eyes had captured me. But I couldn't help it, and I didn't know if I wanted to. But how could someone like Edward ever be interested in a person like me. Things like that only happen in movies and fairy tales.

As I closed my eyes that night, all I could see was him.


	7. Running

I look over at my alarm clock and see it's 7:00 am.

As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, I remembered going to my parents home and working out with my mom. We always worked out at 7 am. After the accident, I couldn't bring myself to work out without my mom, especially not at their home. I just couldn't shake the thought that I should go this morning though. So I threw off the covers and walked into my closet and retrieved my work out clothes at the bottom of my drawer. I stripped off my pajamas and replaced them with a bright blue Nike running shorts and a black tank top. I laced up my running shoes and pulled my hair into a ponytail. Seeing as I didn't belong to a gym, and I wasn't quite ready or willing to drive to my parents just to use their gym, I decided I would just go for a run. After I locked up my apartment and headed downstairs, I finally made my way out onto the street.

It being a 7 am on a Saturday, there wasn't a lot of foot traffic or traffic at all. There were people here and there, getting their morning coffee or getting a head start on the day, but overall I didn't have to dodge very many people. I just ran. It had been a long time but there was a welcoming back as my body got into a rhythm. I couldn't stop running. It felt like everything from the past six months had just built up and I was using it as my energy. I was running like I have never run before. I lost all consciousness of where I was going and how long I had been running. My subconscious just kept my legs in the direction of where it knew I should be going and it led me back to my apartment building. I slowed down and put my hands above my head as I walked into the building and into the elevator. I pressed the button for the 23rd floor. But then I got an idea and pressed the button for the 18th floor. I got out and found the stairwell. I ran up the rest of the way.

As I reached my door, I began taking deep breaths and fumbled my keys into the locks. I emerged into my apartment, closed the door behind me and walked to get some water out of the fridge. I guzzled it down and then went over to the family room to stretch. After stretching, I laid there for I don't know how long. My shirt was wet with sweat and my hair was matted to my head. I sat up and looked around my apartment. It wasn't massive, but it was nice. When you walked through the door, you saw the family room, kitchen, and dining area, it was all open; the kitchen and dining area on the right, and the family room on the left. My apartment was a corner apartment and it had a view of Seattle. 75% of the wall in the family room was all window (1/4 of the way up the wall is wall and 3/4 of the way is all window up to the ceiling). Then behind the family room is a staircase leading up to a loft where my bedroom, bathroom, and closet are. There is also another ½ bathroom downstairs next to the kitchen. The apartment came furnished with modern furniture and expensive furnishings. I'd been living here the past two years while I've gone to school. No, there was no need for me to live in a fancy apartment, but my parents offered it to me when I decided to go to the university here in Seattle. I could've lived at home, seeing as it was only 15 minutes away from the campus, but my dad insisted.

A lot of people would call me spoiled and rich, and yes I was spoiled growing up. My parents were very wealthy. Yes, as long as I can remember we have had nice things, but my parents didn't raise me to think that I was better than anyone else. My parents worked very hard to get where they were, and they never took it for granted. They felt very blessed for the life they were living. But that doesn't mean that I always got what I wanted. They told me no on countless occasions. Contrary to what people think, I always had to make my bed and clean my room, I had to get a job when I turned sixteen. I've had a number of jobs, but no one could ever understand why. My parents were trying to instill a work ethic into my life. But then, things would get messy when people found out who I was and who my father was. They'd ask me for a loan or patronize me. They'd make my work life miserable. Then once I started college, my father said I could quit and focus on school. I kept a low profile and thankfully no one has figured out who I am for the past two years.

I stood up and walked upstairs. As I walked into the bathroom I started taking off my tank top and shorts. I stood there for a second in front of the mirror with only a sports bar and underwear on. I knew that I was skinny and in fairly good shape, but I never felt up to par with the rest of the female population. Especially not good enough for Edward Cullen…did I just think that? No, it must just be the dream I had last night. I'm not ready to be interested in anyone, and my subconscious is right, Edward would definitely never be interested in me. I looked away and turned the shower on, peeling the rest of my clothes off and getting in.

I stood there for a couple minutes, soaking in the water. I washed my hair and my body, rinsed. I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. I dried off and wrapped my hair in the towel. I walked out and into my closet. I grabbed underwear, bra, tan skinny jeans, and a midnight blue v-neck shirt. I went back into the bathroom and changed. I took the towel off of my head and brushed through my hair.

I walked back downstairs and rummaged through the fridge. I found some eggs and bread, and decided to make myself some breakfast. As it was cooking, I ran upstairs to grab my cell phone and then ran back down. I checked my phone and I had a voicemail from Kale.

Kale – Bella, I'm sorry about the house. I know you don't want to talk to me right now, but Bella, just know that I'm here when you are ready. I love you.

He sounded hurt but very sincere. I know I should tell him, but I just can't do that yet. I will someday, but that day is not today.

I finished cooking and sat down to eat. It was gone in a matter of minutes.

I put my dishes in the dishwasher and went upstairs to do my make up. I don't wear much so it doesn't take me very long.

I went to my room and made my bed. I cleaned up all of my dirty clothes and then looked at the clock. 9:15 Am. Now what?

My phone started to ring. I ran back downstairs and grabbed it. I didn't recognize the number.

Me – "Hello?"

Rosalie – "Hey, Bella! It's Rosalie. I know it's early, I hope I didn't wake you up."

Me – "Oh, you're fine. I've been up."

Rosalie – "Oh good! Hey my book didn't come for our History class and I was wondering if I could take a look at your book and possibly your notes?"

Me – "Yeah, no problem."

Rosalie – ""You can just bring them tonight…you are coming tonight? I mean you don't have to…we would really just love for you to come though."

Me – "…yeah," I hesitated, "As long as it's not a big deal or I'm imposing. I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

Rosalie – "No! We want you to come! It'll be fun, Bella."

Me – "Okay, I'll come. I can put my notes on a flash drive and bring it and my book tonight."

Rosalie – "Alright, awesome! Thank you so much Bella."

Me – "Yeah…"

Rosalie – "Actually, do you have plans for today? I have some errands I have to run for the dinner and I would love for you to come. We could get lunch and make a day out of it!"

Me – "Yeah, that sounds…great," I said with a smile. It really did sound fun. I didn't even know her or the rest of the Cullens but I couldn't help but want to be around them.

Rosalie – "Awesome! Okay, I'll come pick you up at 12 and we'll go to this great café that I'm already obsessed with."

Me – "Alright, that sounds great." I chuckled.

Rosalie – "Bye, Bella."

Me – "Bye."

I hung up and I couldn't help but smile.

Now what was I going to do for three hours?


End file.
